Mine ventilation structure

A mine ventilation structure for installation at the intersection of first and second passageways in a mine, said ventilation structure defining a first passage communicating with said first passageway and a second passage communicating with said second passageway, said ventilation structure comprising,

• a pair of generally parallel, spaced-apart side walls defining the side walls of said first passage,
• a plurality of elongate unitary deck panels extending between the side walls and forming the roof of one of said first and second passages and the floor of the other of said first and second passages, each deck panel spanning the full distance between the side walls and being constructed to support its own weight, the weight of accumulated debris from the mine ceiling and the weight of mine personnel,
• each unitary deck panel being formed as a one-piece sheet metal panel generally of inverted channel shape in transverse cross section to have a generally planar upper web and side flanges extending down from the upper web at opposite sides of the web,
• end caps located at the ends of each deck panel for providing a substantially airtight closure of the ends of the deck panels to inhibit exchange of air between the first and second passages,
• the deck panels being adapted to be placed on the side walls in a side-by-side relation with the side flanges of the panels closely adjacent one another so that the webs of the panels form a substantially continuous planar surface, the deck panels so placed being capable of independently supporting their own weight, the weight of accumulated debris from the mine ceiling and the weight of mine personnel.

A mine ventilation structure for installation at the intersection of first and second passageways in a mine, said ventilation structure defining a first passage communicating with said first passageway and a second passage communicating with said second passageway, said ventilation structure comprising,

• a pair of generally parallel, spaced-apart side walls defining the side walls of said first passage,
• a plurality of elongate deck panels extending between the side walls and forming the roof of one of said first and second passages and the floor of the other of said first and second passages, each deck panel spanning the full distance between the side walls and being constructed to support its own weight, the weight of accumulated debris from the mine ceiling and the weight of mine personnel,
• each deck panel comprising a sheet metal panel generally of inverted channel shape in transverse cross section to have an upper web and side flanges extending down from the upper web at opposite sides of the web,
• end caps located at the ends of each deck panel for providing an airtight closure of the ends of the panel to inhibit exchange of air between the first and second passages,
• the deck panels being adapted to be placed on the side walls in a side-by-side relation with the side flanges of the panels closely adjacent one another so that the webs of the panels form a substantially continuous surface.